Three-day festival to open African-American Heritage Trail

ST. PETERSBURG — A three-day kick-off event to celebrate the opening of St. Petersburg’s new African-American Heritage Trail is Oct. 10-12 at 22nd Street S and Ninth Avenue S in St. Petersburg.

Receptions, a gospel brunch, a marching band, guided tours, vendors and a reenactment of Stokely Carmichael’s 1968 speech on 22nd Street are among the featured events.

The Heritage Trail is one of the few such paths in Florida. It is the result of more than two years’ work and features more than 20 markers, each with detailed histories about the people, places and events that made the 22nd Street S and Ninth Avenue neighborhood St. Petersburg’s most vibrant African-American community.

A VIP Garden Reception is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fri., Oct. 10 at the Carter G. Woodson African-American History Museum, 2240 9th Ave. S.

On Sat., Oct. 11, a street festival will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on The Deuces – 22nd Street’s enduring nickname – and part of the street will be closed off. There will be guided tours and vendors will be set up. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, a reunion of African-American nurses from 1947 to the present day will be held in the Royal Theater at 1011 22nd St. S. The reunion is free and open to the public.

Sun., Oct. 12 will be given over to music. A Singin’ and Swingin’ Sunday Gospel Brunch is 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Sylvia’s Restaurant, 642 22nd St. S. A jazz program presented by the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association starts at 6 p.m. in the Manhattan Casino, which is on the second floor of Sylvia’s.

Sponsorship packages are available. For information, call Gwen Reese, (727) 418-6888, email gwenreese@tampabay.rr.com; or Jon Wilson, (727) 488-3382, emailjon.wilson912@gmail.com